Method of treating solid food products



Oct. 9, 1934. s. TRANIN Er AL METHOD OF TREATING SOLID FOOD PRODUCTS Filed Aug. 18, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 9, 1934. s, TRANlN ET AL 1,975,991

METHOD OF TREATING SOLID FOOD PRODUCTS Filed Aug. 18, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l Patentedl Oct.. 9, 1934 METHOD OF TREATING SOLID FOOD PRODUoTs Samuel Tranin and Rudolph M. Snyder, Kansas City, M0.; said Snyder assigner to said Tranin Application August 18, 1930, Serial No. 476,024

1 Claim. (Cl. 99-1) Our invention relates to a method of treating ing agent, is illustrated in the accompanying solid substances such as food portions normally .drawings, wherein: I supporting microorganisms, to reduce the'activity Fig. 1 is a perspective View of liquid and ray of such organisms. treating elements, a receiving tank being shown It is well known that spoilage of -foods is largely fragmentarily. e 60 -due to microorganisms present either in or on Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section the food in its natural state or becoming associthrough the apparatus. ated with the food accidentally. The most com- Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. mon method of reducing the eect of micro- Fig. 4isasection on the line 4 4, Fig. 2.

l0 organisms'on a food product is to heat the product -Referring in detail to the drawings: 65 'sufliciently to destroy a substantial proportion of 1 designates a frame including end legs or posts the organisms or render them innocuous, whereby 2 and 3 and horizontal connecting beams 4 for the spoilage of the food may be delayed. The supporting a pan 5, and intermediate posts 6 application of sufficient heat to effect partial or cooperating with the posts.2 to support a suppletotal sterilization usually results in substantially mental conveyor frame including bars 7 xed to I0 changing the quality or character of the food the upper ends of said posts and"- projecting treated, and the heating method is therefore not beyond the same in each direction, and rollers applicable to many foods which are preferably 8 including shafts 9 journaled in the ends of the supplied in their natural state, for cooking or for bars.

2o consumption raw. A second conveyor frame.l is provided at the Vi Fluid germicidal agents have sometimes been opposite end of the supporting frame, including employed for purifying solid and liquid bodies, as short bars 10 fixed to the end posts 3 and proin the case of chlorine gas used to purify a water jec'ting toward the pan, for supporting a shaft supply,` but have not been suggested for sterilizing 11 journaled in the barsl in parallel alignment vegetable foods into which the agents might penewith a shaft 12 journaled in the side walls 13 of 8O trate, so far as we are aware, becauseof the a housing 14 later described. v probability that the foods Would retain sufficient e An endless conveyor 'including a screen 15 traces of the germicidal agents to produce unformed preferably of relatively `thin wires Widely pleasant or harmful effects. f spaced laterally and relatively narrowly spaced The principal objects of our invention therelongitudinally 0f the screen, and chains 16 on S5 fore, are to reduce the deleterious effect of bac- 'the edges of the screen, runs on said sprockets teria on food and vlike products without deleteri- 17 xed on the shafts 9, 11 and 12.

ously aecting the natural qualities of the prod- Shafts such as 18 mounted on the frame memucts, to employ fluid and/or radiant germicidal bers 4 carrysprockets similar to the sprockets .35 agents in such a manner as to effect destruction 17 to guide the lower run of the conveyor. 90

of a substantial proportion of microorganisms as- The upper shafts may act as rollers to support sociated with a Vegetable food product and to the middle portions of the screen and prevent separate the fluid agent from the food product. undue sagging of the screen'under the weight of More particularly our invention consists in apthe fruit carried thereby, as presently described.

40 plying a fluid germicidal agent to translucent The shaft 9 at the receiving end of the frame 95 solid food particles to destroy a substantial prois provided with a second sprocket 19 for a chain portion of microorganisms associated with the 20 Operated by a motor 21 to -drive the conparticles, passing the particles and portions of the veyor. agent associated therewith in a relatively thin The screen is thus adapted to support solid parstream between lamps emitting ultraviolet light' lticles, for example Whole fruits or portions of 100 rays to effect destruction of organisms not acted fruit, and .carry the portions through the pan on by the iluid agent and stimulate the activity for immersion in a body of liquid contained thereof vitamines, Vheating the particles to promote in, and to effect'drainage of asubstantial prorapid evaporation ofthe fluid agent, and effecting portion of liquid from the fruit as the screen removal of vapors Without exposing the food parpasses over the space between the conveyor roll- 105 ticles to contamination. ers at the Opposite end of the frame.

Apparatus for carrying out our invention, in- The housing 14 above referred to further including all the elements required for the destruccludes top and bottom walls 22 and 23 preferably tion of substantially all microorganisms in abody formed of material opaque to ultra-violet light of food particles, and eliminating the liquid treatrays, and provided with nozzles 24 to receive llOf tubes for circulating a cooling medium through the housing, and comprising supports for lamps 25 adapted to discharge ultra-violet light rays toward food particles passing into the housing from the delivery end of the conveyor.

An inclined plate 26 comprising a chute formed of quartz -or like material adapted to permit passage 0f ultra-violet light rays is preferably stream of food particles.

located in receiving relation with the delivery end of the conveyor, and the housing is adjusted to the location and inclination of the plate, so that the food particles may fall from the conveyor to the plate, and slide thereover, and the lamps may be located relatively close to the sheet-like The plate 26 is supported by suitable means such as strips 27 spacing the plate from the bottom wall 23.

The food particles pass from the lower edge of the plate 26 to a receiving container, and are preferably delivered through a narrow opening 27 of a receiving tank 28, having a spout-like outlet 29 provided with a valve 30, whereby the treated food may be packaged without hazard of contamination thereof by impure air.

We employ as the liquid treating agent in the pan, a germicidal liquid, preferably a saturated water solution of a halogen such as chlorine, to destroy microorganisms carried by the food particles and accessible to the agent. 'The uid halogen in gaseous form or in solution, will penetrate any interstices or wounds in the food particles, and thus rid available surfaces of bacterial life.

The particlesmoistened by the solution will,

slide freely over the inclined quartz plate, and the ultra-violet rays from the lamps will penetrate the particles more or less in proportion to their translucence, and destroy surface bacteria and bacteria protected from the fluid agent by membranes or cell walls` The heat due to operation of the lamps to produce the bacteria-destroying rays will raise the temperature in the housing, and may be controlled to provide a desired temperature therein adapted to promote vaporization of liquid adhering to the food particles withoutoverheating the particles.

Vapors may move from the housing through the open ends'thereof, and will tend to escape from the stream of food while the same is moving from the plate to the tank. The open inlet and outlet ends of the housing will aiord substantial ventilation, and conduits may be connected to the nozzles 24 to provide for circulation of cooled air through the housing, to maintain a temperature therein below that normally due to operation of the lamps, and preferably below 100 F., whereby change in the natural character of the food treated may be avoided. Substantially all of the halogen carried into the tank will escape from the body of food through the openings of the housing and tank, and prevent entrance of air to the-tank. Food delivered to the tank will displace a relatively heavy treating gas outwardly through the opening thereof.

The food may be delivered under conditions to prevent contamination tocans or like shipping containers as in ordinary practice, and use may be made of chlorine or like gas, for example chlorine passing with the food through the tank toward the cans and escaping from the stream of food as the latter enters and lls the cans, to maintain a sterile atmosphere in the-packaging space.

The outer surface of ysolid food particles treated with the germicidal fluid agent, and portions of the interior adjacent the surface reached by the ultra-violet rays, will be substantially pure and free of live bacteria, and the food when packaged and sealed against contamination will therefore keep a relatively long period without refrigeration.

Small proportions of the halogen that may be retained with the food in a package when the same is sealed, will not deleteriously affect the food, and will escape quickly when the container is opened, leaving no traces to cause unpleasant tastes or odors.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a method of treating solid particles including discharging ultraviolet rays from a heat-evolving source to treat particles with the rays, the step of treating the solid particles with a fluid germicide, passing the treated particles across the paths of said rays toward a container and sufficiently close to Jche source of rays to subject the particles to heat evolved from said source for promoting evaporation of adhering fluid germicide from the particles, circulating air over the particles for controlling the effect of evolved heat to avoid overheating the particles, and delivering the particles to a container.

SAMUEL TRANlN. RUDOLPH M. SNYDER. 

